Adobe After Effects CS4 - Manual (Page 129)

123 USING AFTER EFFECTS CS4
Importing and managing footage items
Last updated 12/21/2009
Clarity, Vibrance, and Saturation controls in Camera Raw
You can change the color saturation (vividness or color purity) of all colors by adjusting the Clarity, Vibrance, and
Saturation controls on the Basic tab. (To adjust saturation for a specific range of colors, use the controls on the HSL /
Grayscale tab.)
Clarity Adds depth to an image by increasing local contrast, with greatest effect on the midtones. This setting is like a
large-radius unsharp mask. When using this setting, it is best to zoom in to 100% or greater. To maximize the effect,
increase the setting until you see halos near the edge details of the image and then reduce the setting slightly.
Vibrance Adjusts the saturation so that clipping is minimized as colors approach full saturation. This setting changes
the saturation of all lower-saturated colors with less effect on the higher-saturated colors. Vibrance also prevents skin
tones from becoming oversaturated.
Saturation Adjusts the saturation of all image colors equally from -100 (monochrome) to +100 (double the
saturation).
HSL / Grayscale controls in Camera Raw
You can use the controls in the HSL / Grayscale tab to adjust individual color ranges. For example, if a red object looks
too vivid and distracting, you can decrease the Reds values in the nested Saturation tab.
The following nested tabs contain controls for adjusting a color component for a specific color range:
Hue Changes the color. For example, you can change a blue sky (and all other blue objects) from cyan to purple.
Saturation Changes the color vividness or purity of the color. For example, you can change a blue sky from gray to
highly saturated blue.
Luminance Changes the brightness of the color range.
If you select Convert To Grayscale, you see only one nested tab:
Grayscale Mix Use controls in this tab to specify the contribution of each color range to the grayscale version of the
image.
Adjust color or tone using the Targeted Adjustment tool in Camera Raw
The Targeted Adjustment tool allows you to make tonal and color corrections by dragging directly on a photo,
rather than by using sliders in the image adjustment tabs. For some people, dragging on the image is a more intuitive
way to work. Using the Targeted Adjustment tool, you can drag down on a blue sky to desaturate it, for example, or
drag up on a red jacket to intensify its hue.
1 To make color adjustments with the Targeted Adjustment tool , click it in the toolbar and choose the type of
correction you want to make: Hue, Saturation, Luminance, or Grayscale Mix. Then, drag in the image.
Dragging up or right increases values; dragging down or left decreases values. Sliders for more than one color may be
affected when you drag with the Targeted Adjustment tool. Selecting the Grayscale Mix Targeted Adjustment tool
converts the image to grayscale.
2 To make tone curve adjustments using the Targeted Adjustment tool , click it in the toolbar and choose
Parametric Curve. Then, drag in the image.
The Parametric Curve Targeted Adjustment tool adjusts the Highlights, Lights, Darks, or Shadows curve region based
on the values in the image where you click.
The keyboard shortcut T toggles the last Targeted Adjustment tool you used.